The raspy roars finally fell silent.
The rotting corpses of the zombies lay scattered across the warehouse, the pungent scent of blood mixing with the smell of rust, making the air suffocating.
Thuong Sinh stood amidst the pile of bodies, his breathing slightly heavy, but his eyes remained sharp and clear. He looked down, wiping the bloodied blade with a cloth torn from his shirt, then strapped the Longevity Sword to his hip. He wrapped an extra layer of bandages around it, concealing both the hilt and the wound on his right shoulder.
From a distance, it looked like nothing more than an old iron rod carried for self-defense. No one would suspect that beneath those bandages lay a sword brimming with vitality.
Thuong Sinh stepped out of the warehouse. Before him lay the vast school sports field. The running track was mottled with dried blood, and weeds pushed through the peeling white lines. He paused for a moment, his gaze scanning the terrain.
There were only two ways to leave this school.
One was to loop around in the direction the bus had gone, following the path of the previous group. This road was relatively safer, but it also meant potentially encountering whatever they had left behind.
The second was to go straight, crossing the perimeter fence ahead of the field and entering the school's main building, cutting directly through to the main gate.
More dangerous. But faster.
Thuong Sinh glanced toward the first direction for only a second before withdrawing his gaze.
"I'm not used to following in the footsteps of others."
He walked straight toward the hai-meter-high iron fence. He crouched slightly, the Essence within his body channeling down to his lower limbs.
Thuong Sinh leapt.
His body felt as light as if he were being tossed into the air. His hands gripped the edge of the fence, using the momentum to swing himself over.
Soat—!
He flipped over the fence and landed cleanly on the other side. No wasted sound.
Ahead, the main school building loomed, its glass windows shattered and its dark corridors gaping like a wide-open mouth. Thuong Sinh adjusted the bandages at his hip, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
On the other side.
Inside the main building, weak light filtered through shattered windows, stretching into jagged patches on the hallway floor. A group of four was moving slowly—two men and two women.
The leader was a burly young man with short hair. On the back of his left hand, a faint red glow flickered occasionally like a dying ember. He gripped a machete tightly, each step steady and deliberate.
Right behind him, a girl suddenly stopped. She knelt on one knee, pressing her palm against the cold tile floor and closing her eyes. The surrounding air seemed to slow down.
In that moment, every tiny vibration transmitted through the ground converged in her consciousness. Footsteps—even, steady, with no signs of losing control. Not stumbling, not dragging.
She opened her eyes. "There's a sound." Her voice was soft but decisive.
The young man in front immediately raised his hand, signaling them to halt. "Zombie?"
The girl shook her head. "Doesn't feel like it. The footsteps are very rhythmic, stable... controlled." She looked up, her expression turning serious. "It's a person."
The other man swallowed hard. "One or many?"
She closed her eyes again, sensing for a few more seconds. "One. Just one person."
The atmosphere immediately became tense. The leader narrowed his eyes, his hand tightening around the machete. "One person dares to enter the main building alone?" He let out a cold snort, a spark of wariness in his eyes. "Either a fool... or very strong."
The girl pressed her hand to the ground again. "Distance is less than thirty meters. Heading... straight toward us."
The other girl instinctively took half a step back, clutching her backpack. "Should... should we meet them?"
Just as the question was asked—
At the end of the hallway, a faint metallic sound against the tile rang out.
Clang.
It was very soft. But in the silence, it was terrifyingly clear.
The leader leaned to one side, his hand erupting with a thin layer of flame—just enough to coat his fist. The heat caused the surrounding air to warp slightly.
"Stay sharp. If they aren't a friend... they're an enemy."
At the other end of the corridor, a tall, slender figure stepped out of the darkness. Dim light reflected off the cloth-wrapped sword at his hip and the calm, unwavering gaze of the newcomer.
A group of four. One loner.
The group of four was tense, their eyes locked on the approaching figure. Thuong Sinh appeared unremarkable at first—a tall youth around 1.7 meters, wearing a white T-shirt stained with dried blood and dusty dark jeans. He looked almost too ordinary for the apocalypse.
But his eyes were different. Calm. Excessively calm.
At his hip hung an object wrapped tightly in bandages, revealing only a simple hilt. It was unclear if it was a sword or a knife. The blood-stained cloth had dried dark, but it was wrapped neatly, as if the owner didn't want to draw attention to it.
His hand rested lightly on the weapon's hilt—not in an aggressive stance, but in a position ready to kill at any moment.
The leader narrowed his eyes. "One person. He really is alone."
The other man cursed under his breath, "Damn... is he an Awakened?"
The girl shook her head, hesitating. "I don't sense any Awakened Ability fluctuations."
This made the group even more nervous. No Awakened Ability, yet he carried an aura of danger. Opposite them, Thuong Sinh stopped less than ten meters away. He didn't draw his sword, nor did he speak.
He stood there silently, his gaze scanning each of them, lingering a beat longer on the girl kneeling on the ground.
"....?"
However, what drew his attention most was the leader. A small flame flickered in the man's hand, dark red like glowing coal. Although small, it was stable—clearly, this man had mastered his Awakened Ability beyond the initial awakening.
Yet, in Thuong Sinh's eyes, that flame wasn't intimidating. Not because he looked down on Awakened Abilities, but because of how it was being used. The fire was forced to cling to the hand, consuming significant stamina for the sake of intimidation. To someone who hadn't faced life and death, it might be terrifying.
But to Thuong Sinh, who had just slain a Mutated Zombie with a broken knife, it looked like child's play.
"Fire-type Awakened Ability..." he evaluated inwardly.
His gaze quickly moved on, not lingering on the flame for more than a second. This reaction made the leader frown. He realized his opponent wasn't threatened at all.
The girl with the sensory Awakened Ability frowned deeper, her hand still on the floor. "Be careful!" her voice dropped suddenly. "The pressure from him... it doesn't come from an Awakened Ability."
The other man swallowed. "Then... where does it come from?"
She shook her head, cold sweat dripping down her temple. "I don't know. He's just standing there, but my power is warning me not to get near him!"
Thuong Sinh finally spoke, his voice neither loud nor cold. "I'm just passing through. I don't want any trouble."
The statement was simple, but in the quiet hall, it carried an inexplicable weight. The leader stared at him for several seconds, the flame in his hand flaring slightly more.
"Passing through? This isn't a place anyone dares to walk alone!"
Thuong Sinh nodded slightly. "That's why I walk alone."
The words fell into the empty hallway without threat. But that very calmness was more unsettling than anything else.
Both sides remained in a deathly silence. The flame in the leader's hand continued to burn, but it didn't grow. He didn't dare advance, nor did he dare retreat, simply watching the man before him. If they actually fought, he wasn't sure he could win. The stranger showed no hostility, yet he exerted an indescribable, invisible pressure.
The leader glanced at the kneeling girl. His eyes asked: Is he one of them?
The girl shook her head slightly. "Doesn't look like a scavenger or a bandit," she whispered. "This person... his emotions are almost flat. I don't detect any malice."
She paused, her brows knitting. "I don't detect any goodwill either. His 'color' is grey."
The air stilled for a few more seconds. The leader slowly clenched his hand, and the flame wavered before dying out completely. He leaned to one side, taking half a step back.
"We aren't looking for trouble either. Go on."
The two behind him also stepped to the sides of the corridor, creating enough space to pass.
Thuong Sinh didn't say thank you. He gave a slight nod, hand still resting on his hilt, and walked straight through the blood-scented hallway. He passed them just like that, the long corridor leading to the main hall stretched out ahead. The flickering fluorescent lights on the ceiling cast his long shadow on the stained tiles. His footsteps were steady—neither fast nor slow.
The kneeling girl kept her Awakened Ability active, sensing every tiny vibration until his figure was several meters away, eventually moving out of her range.
She opened her eyes. "He's gone."
The leader frowned, looking in the direction Thuong Sinh had disappeared. He turned and signaled the group. "Move out. Stay alert."
The four quickly tightened their formation and headed deeper into the classroom wing, their footsteps eventually swallowed by the darkness.